Little Brown Jug books airport seat amid local brewery expansions

Planes aren’t the only flights available at Winnipeg’s largest airport.

The newest flight: four types of Little Brown Jug beer at the brewery’s taproom. Little Brown Jug is the latest Manitoba vendor to open in the Winnipeg Richardson International Airport.

Meanwhile, La Brasserie Nonsuch Brewing Co. is planning its own expansion; a South Osborne locale bears its signage.

“I’m absolutely stoked about this and what it’ll mean in terms of … awareness and growing our brand,” said Kevin Selch, Little Brown Jug’s founder.

Winnipeg’s airport counted 372,810 travellers in June. It’s clocked 2.1 million passengers during the first half of 2025 — a jump of more than 119,000 from 2024.

Little Brown Jug has set up in the domestic and international departures area, past security. It occupies the former Skylights Lounge.

The Winnipeg company’s beer had already circulated in the airport. It inked a deal to supply one of its most popular ales, 1919, to existing restaurants.

Moving to a taproom “seemed like a natural extension,” Selch said. He was tapped when the airport’s beverage contractor sought to change Skylights, he added.

The Winnipeg Airports Authority didn’t respond to interview requests by print deadline.

“Passengers are always asking for more local options,” Scott Marohn, WAA vice-president, commercial, said in a news release.

Staff from contractor SSP Canada Food Services will run Little Brown Jug’s airport outpost alongside Prairie Bistro, Selch said. Meanwhile, he and dozens of staff will continue operating Little Brown Jug’s Exchange District hub at 336 William Ave.

“An airport can be timeless. It can also sometimes feel anonymous, because you could be at any airport,” Selch said. “I think airports want to make steps to link their place to their city.

“Nothing’s … more emblematic of that than something like local craft beer that’s brewed in the Exchange District.”

The site will sell Little Brown Jug merchandise and operate from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. It opened on July 18 and follows Jenna Rae Cakes, which launched its own airport depot last summer. Stella’s, a restaurant and bakery, reopened at 2000 Wellington Ave. in November after a COVID-19 pandemic-era closure.

Eleven kilometres south, La Brasserie Nonsuch Brewing Co. has staked its claim on 551 Osborne St.

Owner Matthew Sabourin aims to create a retail store and taproom. The expansion resulted from a legislation change: until 2022, licensed brewers couldn’t sell their beer at more than one shop of their own.

Now, brewers can sell their beer at three of their own retail locations, due to an updated Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Authority policy.

“I’ve been on the hunt for the right location,” Sabourin said.

South Osborne stood out — there’s nowhere to buy a case of beer and take it home.

“We saw an immense opportunity there,” Sabourin added. “That community already supports us in a really great way and so we wanted to be there.”

He’s in the process of hiring a site designer; a timeline for opening hasn’t been cemented. The company’s flagship at 125 Pacific Ave. will remain as Nonsuch’s only restaurant space.

The business has grown to 40 summertime staff over seven years. It’s made around 300 types of drinks, Sabourin estimates.

Manitoba counted 26 brick-and-mortar breweries in 2023-24 and another 12 contract breweries. The sector accounted for $14 million of the province’s gross domestic product directly and another $10 million indirectly.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com